Talking about Art, Part 2
2023-01-27
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1After releasing our recent report, Talking about Art, we received many wonderful messages from VOA Learning English fans around the world.
2In today's report, we will share some of those messages.
3We'll provide feedback and suggestions, as well.
4So, let's hear what you had to say about art and explore some interesting grammar points too.
5Let's start with part of a message from Dzimitry.
6My favorite piece of art is Over the Town by Mark Chagall.
7There are 3 most important things for the artist on it: he, his wife and their hometown Vitebsk.
8Actually, Vitebsk is one of the most wonderful towns in my country Belarus. ...
9While looking at the art, I clearly understand the feelings of the great artist and fly home in my imagination.
10This is why I love Over the Town.
11Dzimitry provides a good description of the painting, "Over the Town."
12We have some suggestions to make it even better!
13We will start with the second sentence.
14You could remove the word "there" as the subject and use a specific noun in its place - for example, "the artwork."
15You could also replace the noun "thing" with a more specific noun, like "element."
16Let's check out the new sentence:
17The artwork has three important elements: the artist, his wife, and their hometown Vitebsk.
18Or, you could use a different structure, as in:
19The three most important elements of the artwork are the artist, his wife, and their hometown Vitebsk.
20Dzimitry did an excellent job of organizing sentences.
21The second sentence ends with the noun "Vitebsk,"
22and then the following sentence gives more details about Vitebsk and Dzimitry's connection to it.
23Dzimitry mentioned that he is from Vitebsk and misses his hometown greatly.
24He says he cannot visit it. We hope that you can do so soon, Dzimitry!
25Now here is part of a message from Mariko.
26...I'm Mariko.
27I enjoy listening to EVERYDAY GRAMMAR often.
28Talking about my favorite art, I'm interested in Claude Monet's Poplars in the Sun.
29Its color is brightful but natural because it's illuminated by sun light.
30I love the green, yellow color of poplars and gentle blue in the sky.
31We think Mariko's description of the artwork is excellent.
32That said, we have a few ideas on ways to make the piece even better.
33The first relates to transitions.
34Mariko wrote some words of greeting and then changed the subject to the topic of art:
35...Talking about my favorite art, I'm interested in Claude Monet's Poplars in the Sun.
36We suggest changing the introduction - "talking about my favorite art."
37Introductory phrases - especially those that begin with -ing words - can be tricky.
38It is sometimes a good idea to avoid them.
39In this case, a sentence fragment - a sentence without a complete subject and predicate - might work as a transition.
40For example, you might write some greetings and then change subjects by writing:
41A word about my favorite piece of art.
42You could go on to add more details. For example:
43A word about my favorite piece of art. I love Claude Monet's Poplars in the Sun.
44Or:
45A word about my favorite piece of art: it is Monet's Poplars in the Sun.
46We also suggest removing "brightful" and using the word "bright" instead.
47You might use the noun "painting" in place of "its," as in:
48The painting is bright but natural because it is illuminated by sunlight.
49Or you might say,
50The painting is bright but natural. It is illuminated by sunlight.
51In the final sentence, you might add some determiners such as "the" in a couple places, as in:
52I love the green and yellow color of the poplars and the gentle blue in the sky.
53There are, of course, different ways to structure such a description. We have only offered a few suggestions.
54We took some valuable learning materials from today's report. We learned that sometimes including one special noun can help you more clearly express yourself.
55We also learned about introductory phrases and how to be careful about using determiners such as "the."
56Many thanks again for all of your messages.
57We hoped that you enjoyed writing about art as much as we enjoyed reading your notes.
58Keep up the good work!
59I'm John Russell.
1After releasing our recent report, Talking about Art, we received many wonderful messages from VOA Learning English fans around the world. 2In today's report, we will share some of those messages. We'll provide feedback and suggestions, as well. So, let's hear what you had to say about art and explore some interesting grammar points too. 3Dzimitry's message 4Let's start with part of a message from Dzimitry. 5My favorite piece of art is Over the Town by Mark Chagall. There are 3 most important things for the artist on it: he, his wife and their hometown Vitebsk. Actually, Vitebsk is one of the most wonderful towns in my country Belarus. ... While looking at the art, I clearly understand the feelings of the great artist and fly home in my imagination. This is why I love Over the Town. 6Dzimitry provides a good description of the painting, "Over the Town." We have some suggestions to make it even better! 7We will start with the second sentence. 8You could remove the word "there" as the subject and use a specific noun in its place - for example, "the artwork." 9You could also replace the noun "thing" with a more specific noun, like "element." Let's check out the new sentence: 10The artwork has three important elements: the artist, his wife, and their hometown Vitebsk. 11Or, you could use a different structure, as in: 12The three most important elements of the artwork are the artist, his wife, and their hometown Vitebsk. 13Dzimitry did an excellent job of organizing sentences. The second sentence ends with the noun "Vitebsk," and then the following sentence gives more details about Vitebsk and Dzimitry's connection to it. 14Dzimitry mentioned that he is from Vitebsk and misses his hometown greatly. He says he cannot visit it. We hope that you can do so soon, Dzimitry! 15Mariko's message 16Now here is part of a message from Mariko. 17...I'm Mariko. 18I enjoy listening to EVERYDAY GRAMMAR often. 19Talking about my favorite art, I'm interested in Claude Monet's Poplars in the Sun. 20Its color is brightful but natural because it's illuminated by sun light. I love the green, yellow color of poplars and gentle blue in the sky. 21We think Mariko's description of the artwork is excellent. 22That said, we have a few ideas on ways to make the piece even better. 23The first relates to transitions. 24Mariko wrote some words of greeting and then changed the subject to the topic of art: 25...Talking about my favorite art, I'm interested in Claude Monet's Poplars in the Sun. 26We suggest changing the introduction - "talking about my favorite art." Introductory phrases - especially those that begin with -ing words - can be tricky. It is sometimes a good idea to avoid them. 27In this case, a sentence fragment - a sentence without a complete subject and predicate - might work as a transition. For example, you might write some greetings and then change subjects by writing: 28A word about my favorite piece of art. 29You could go on to add more details. For example: 30A word about my favorite piece of art. I love Claude Monet's Poplars in the Sun. 31Or: 32A word about my favorite piece of art: it is Monet's Poplars in the Sun. 33We also suggest removing "brightful" and using the word "bright" instead. You might use the noun "painting" in place of "its," as in: 34The painting is bright but natural because it is illuminated by sunlight. 35Or you might say, 36The painting is bright but natural. It is illuminated by sunlight. 37In the final sentence, you might add some determiners such as "the" in a couple places, as in: 38I love the green and yellow color of the poplars and the gentle blue in the sky. 39There are, of course, different ways to structure such a description. We have only offered a few suggestions. 40Closing thoughts 41We took some valuable learning materials from today's report. We learned that sometimes including one special noun can help you more clearly express yourself. We also learned about introductory phrases and how to be careful about using determiners such as "the." 42Many thanks again for all of your messages. We hoped that you enjoyed writing about art as much as we enjoyed reading your notes. Keep up the good work! 43I'm John Russell. 44________________________________________________________________ 45Words in This Story 46feedback - n. helpful information or criticism that is given to someone to say what can be done to improve a performance, product, etc. 47illuminate - v. to supply (something) with light : to shine light on (something) 48poplar - n. a tall, thin tree that has rough bark, soft wood, and very small groups of flowers 49introduction - n. an expression or act that presents something new